Government losing obesity battle

Not personally – Ms Bligh said her government had found itself underperforming in its aim to combat the rising obesity numbers among the Queenslanders.

“It is a very serious issue for our health system,” Ms Bligh said. “We are not meeting our targets in that area.”

Bligh defended the failure, saying that it came “despite the terrific efforts” on the government’s part, and the global phenomenon was something many governments are struggling with. “It is the one area in which Queensland, like other jurisdictions around the world, is really struggling to make inroads.”

The admission comes in spite of marked improvements in other areas of health and lifestyle on the part of Queenslanders. Smoking rates have been steadily decreasing for a number of years, while obesity has seen a soaring increase over the same period.